How toxic is Sevin?

On a hypothetical toxicity scale of 0 to 10, with water being 0 and DDT being 10, wondering where Sevin would rank as far as toxicity to humans? Guess I could look for the MSDS on it.

Re: How toxic is Sevin?

Thu Jun 16, 2011 10:33 pm

It is not very toxic to humans or animals but you don't want to use it anywhere near a place where honeybees will get to it. They will carry it back to their hive and potentially wipe themselves out.

Re: How toxic is Sevin?

Fri Jun 17, 2011 6:25 am

Barnyard wrote:It is not very toxic to humans or animals but you don't want to use it anywhere near a place where honeybees will get to it. They will carry it back to their hive and potentially wipe themselves out.

So, for all practical purposes, on your scale of 1 to 10, both Sevin and DDT are 10.

Hope this helps.

Bill

Re: How toxic is Sevin?

Fri Jun 17, 2011 8:23 am

Bill, in looking at the chart it appears that the lower the LD50 the worse the product. So, from what I see then, aspirin and caffien are worse than Sevin, and nicotine is worse than DDT.

Re: How toxic is Sevin?

Fri Jun 17, 2011 9:43 am

Barnyard wrote:Bill, in looking at the chart it appears that the lower the LD50 the worse the product.

Right. Just looking at the list, most of the really nasty stuff is below about 50. Most of the items over about 200 to 400 are things we routinely use without thinking much about it.

For most pests Sevin can treat, BT is a good alternative.

Re: How toxic is Sevin?

Fri Jun 17, 2011 9:44 am

Barnyard wrote:Bill, in looking at the chart it appears that the lower the LD50 the worse the product. So, from what I see then, aspirin and caffien are worse than Sevin, and nicotine is worse than DDT.

Nicotine is really bad stuff though. 30Mg can kill you.

Re: How toxic is Sevin?

Fri Jun 17, 2011 9:56 am

I am not a chemist or biologist, but from what I have seen and read, you can pretty much eat Sevin in reasonable quantities with no ill effects. I used to prefer dust, both Sevin, and also trying to avoid pesticides as much as possible tried the diactonomous (sp?) dust. the pesticide dusts, especially the diatonomous earth ones are very harmful to honey bees, and we do have a shortage of them in this area. I now use limited spraying, and only in very late evening, or very early morning when the blooms are closed. that reduces the insecticides being in the blooms where the honeybees will carry it back to the hive.

Re: How toxic is Sevin?

Fri Jun 17, 2011 10:19 am

John *.?-!.* cub owner wrote:...but from what I have seen and read, you can pretty much eat Sevin in reasonable quantities with no ill effects. I used to prefer dust...

Did you sprinkle it on your sandwich or just eat it straight from the bag?

Re: How toxic is Sevin?

Fri Jun 17, 2011 10:50 am

Yes, the lower the LD50, the more toxic the product. LD50 means Lethal Dose that kills 50% of the animals the product was administered to. The measurement is made in mg/kg (milligrams/kilogram). Just as with poison ivy and peanuts, some people are more allergic to some products than others. For those wanting a more in-depth discussion, you might want to look at this: http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/pi008

Re: How toxic is Sevin?

Re: How toxic is Sevin?

Sat Jun 18, 2011 5:46 am

The MSDS on Sevin can be misleading. Sevin has been around for a long time and is a safe product if, like any other pesticides, is used according to the directions. But here is the problem. Those directions were written when original testing was done. Over time a pest can change how it reacts to a certain pesticide. In some cases like the Colorado Potato Beetle this change can come in just a few days. The result is that people tend to increase the amount of pesticide to achieve the wanted result. The problem doesn't stop there. When older pesticides were tested and sold there was little concern about the danger to beneficial insects and the environment. Fortunately science is leaning toward alternatives that have less harmful effects on things we now consider important. To answer your question, Sevin can be as toxic as DDT in today's world. Personally I would not use Sevin any more than I would use DDT. FDA, USDA, and other agencies are very aware of these problems. In reality the pesticides that can be purchased over the counter are only about 40% as toxic as the label says. That's because there will always be stupid people people that will misuse pesticides. Do some research on alternatives like BT, Spinosad, Neem, just to name a few. We will all benefit.

Re: How toxic is Sevin?

Sat Jun 18, 2011 7:43 am

Those observations, while valid considerations, don't do anything to the MSDS. LD50 is still LD50.

Re: How toxic is Sevin?

Sat Jun 18, 2011 12:30 pm

I use admire works great do a Google on it , you will find yourself bug free

Re: How toxic is Sevin?

Sat Jun 18, 2011 1:46 pm

I read the toxicology on Admire and I can see why you like it. Unfortunately bug free also means bee free.